Hope Springs from Field PAC ventured into new territory last Saturday. We had initially scheduled to begin canvassing in Michigan on May 20th but we got rained out. And no one was going to start over the Memorial Day long weekend. But everything came together last Saturday. We did have to “import” a couple of organizers, but we had to do that in Ohio last year, as well. Getting the ball rolling is the hardest part. I think.
The canvassing season can be a little short once you have crossed 42 degrees North, but there are three critical Senate Swing States above that latitude: Michigan, Wisconsin and Montana. All three are held by Democrats and are made even more important given that the popular consensus is that West Virginia is a goner. We had volunteers knocking on doors in all three last weekend.
Since the first Georgia Senate Runoffs, we have relied upon unpaid organizers (generally, Obama alums but we have depended upon Hillary ‘16 alums in Ohio) to lead volunteers in their pre-canvass training and getting them in and out of the field. Tracking down and enlisting former campaign field organizers is a huge factor in when we can start in a new state. Of course, we have known the 2024 map from the beginning, which helped.
In the process of recruiting organizers to lead canvasses, we also use that as an opportunity to collect names and contact info for the volunteers that we try to recruit to knock on doors. I had already made 4 trips to Michigan to talk to potential organizers and volunteers before we knocked last Saturday. But you never know (every one of the states we have canvassed in started slow), and preparation is key. Because we know that our success depends on the grassroots have a great experience knocking on doors. Volunteers are key.
54 volunteers came out to knock on doors in 4 canvasses in Michigan last Saturday. The grey Congressional Districts represent most of where we are targeting, but we will also be targeting minority neighborhoods in the Detroit area in the future. Hope Springs volunteers knocked on 3,639 doors last Saturday and talked to 272 voters. 171 of those voters answered questions to at least part of the Issues Survey.
Concern over Crime was the most frequent response to our question about voter’s top concern on Saturday in Michigan. Two voters specifically mentioned sex crimes. The coming implementation of New Laws was the second more frequent response this week, which is akin to what we have seen elsewhere when voters would talk about concern over things in their state legislatures. Concern over Extremist Groups was third, a first for it rising to reach the list.
Biden Approval among the Michiganders we talked to was at 53% last Saturday and 11% expressed some measure of Disapproval. 51% of the voters who responded Approved of the job Gov. Whitmer was doing while 14% expressed Disapproval.
26 voters filled out Constituent Service Request forms. We send completed CSRs to Democratic elected officials responsible for the requested functions, but if the appropriate office is held by a Republican, we still send it along. For Democrats, though, we encourage them to reach out immediately to the voter who filled out the Constituent Service Request forms and let them know they are working on the issue. This credit-taking is enormously valuable to the Democratic office-holder.
Volunteers re-registered 8 voters in compliance with Federal (HAVA) law.
Hope Springs from Field PAC has been knocking on doors since March in a grassroots effort to prepare the 2024 Electoral Battleground in what has been called the First and Second Rounds of a traditional Five Round Canvass. We are canvassing Democrats and unaffiliated voters with a systematic approach that reminds them not only that Democrats care, but Democrats are determined to deliver the best government possible to all Americans.
Obviously, we rely on grassroots support, so if you support field/grassroots organizing, voter registration (and follow-up) and our efforts to protect our voters, we would certainly appreciate your support:
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/fistfulofsteel
Hope Springs from Field PAC understands that volunteer to voter personal interactions are critical. Knocking on doors has repeatedly been found to be the most successful tactic to get voters to cast a ballot and that is the goal of what we do.
148 volunteers canvassed in Wisconsin on Saturday, our third canvass this year. Like last year, we continue to canvass in Milwaukee (where we are canvassing in African-American wards) and its suburbs, as well as Kenosha, Waukesha (although we did not canvass these two last week) and Dane counties. The key Democratic and swing areas of this Senate Swing State. Volunteers knocked on 10,506 doors on Saturday and talked to 865 voters. 534 of those voters answered at least some of our questions on the Issues Survey.
Jobs was the Top Concern, and we had lots of voters talking about their worry that kids in school aren’t finding jobs for the Summer. Recession Worries was the second most frequently cited concern. The costs of Prescription Drugs was the third most frequently mentioned concern. Several voters mentioned the length of time it takes for them to get to a doctor now.
Joe Biden’s Approval numbers in Wisconsin to rose to 55% last Saturday; his Disapproval number was 9%. Senator Baldwin’s Job Approval was 59% with 6% of the voters we talked to on Saturday expressing Disapproval. Approval of Governor Evers, meanwhile, was 52%; Disapproval was 11% last Saturday.
Hope Springs from Field volunteers registered 3 new voters. 30 more voters updated their voter registration to comply with federal law. We differentiate between new voters registered and existing voters re-registering because we plan to continue our New Voter Postcard effort, and even add Voter Video Chains this cycle.
64 voters filled out Constituent Service Request forms. We send completed CSRs to Democratic elected officials responsible for the requested functions, but if there are no Democrats who can further the request, and the appropriate office is held by a Republican, we still send it along. For Democrats, though, we encourage them to reach out immediately to the voter who filled out the Constituent Service Request forms and let them know they are working on the issue. This credit-taking is enormously valuable to the Democratic office-holder.
3 voters filled out Incident Reports in Wisconsin this week, and we are still hearing concerns about the 2022 (or 2020) election. 4 voters asked questions that will be forwarded to the candidate’s campaign (we walk with Q(uestion)-slips that are filled out if the voter asked the volunteer a question; these are then forwarded to the appropriate campaign, freeing volunteers to answer questions that they may or may not know the answer to). We also walk with Observation Forms that volunteer canvassers can fill out if they notice something they think will be helpful to other canvassers. We always record these observational notes in VAN, so that the Democratic campaigns that follow have access to volunteer observations.
If you support grassroots organizing to increase voter participation and election protection, expand the electorate and prepare the electoral battlefield for Democrats, please help:
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28 volunteers showed up for our kickoff canvass in the Bozeman/Butte area on Saturday. Senator Tester is running for re-election and is considered among the most vulnerable Democrats running in 2024. Tester has his own support network that is largely independent of the Democratic party and our effort is designed to reinforce that network by distilling FoxNews disinformation among (mostly) independent voters who may have the wrong idea about Democrats. We were unable to canvass in the Missoula region because of weather.
They knocked on 1,755 doors on Saturday and talked to 149 voters. 93 of those voters answered at least some of our questions on the Issues Survey.
Fluctuating Prices was the Top Concern, and more than one voter said they were having trying maintaining their “household budget.” Schools and Taxes was the second most frequently cited concern. Jobs was the third most frequently mentioned concern.
Joe Biden’s Approval numbers was 48% last Saturday; his Disapproval number was 17%. Senator Tester’s Job Approval was 63% with 16% of the voters we talked to on Saturday expressing Disapproval. Approval of Governor Gianforte, meanwhile, was 21%; Disapproval was 28% last Saturday.
Hope Springs from Field volunteers updated the voter registration of 4 voters to comply with federal law. 3 voters filled out Constituent Service Request forms. We send completed CSRs to Democratic elected officials responsible for the requested functions, but if there are no Democrats who can further the request, and the appropriate office is held by a Republican, we still send it along. For Democrats, though, we encourage them to reach out immediately to the voter who filled out the Constituent Service Request forms and let them know they are working on the issue. This credit-taking is enormously valuable to the Democratic office-holder.
We found 2 people at the door who expressed interest (only 1 was a voter) in knocking on doors with us. And we collected 3 Q-slips with questions for Senator Tester. These will be passed along to his campaign for them to devise a response for the Montana voter.
We knock on the doors of Democratic and Independent voters. At every door, we leave a piece of “show the flag” lit, something that tells them we were there and hopefully reinforces the Democratic brand. The lit focuses on the things voters told us were important to them last fall, aiming to appeal to every voter.
But the main focus of our canvassing right now is the Issues Survey, asking voters for their input and concerns. Voter responses to the questionnaire are entered into VAN and made available to all Democratic candidates who use VAN in the state after the primary. Creating this kind of data isn’t done with a specific goal in mind but has the purpose of engaging voters and creating a dataset that any Democratic candidate can use in opposition to a Republican.
Hope Springs has targeted states that have competitive Senate races and/or the Electoral College in 2024, as well as Congressional Districts that are remapped in ways that offer opportunities or vulnerabilities for Democrats next year (specifically those where a Republican won a Congressional District that voted for Biden in 2022). There is a lot of work to be done! Especially since we have had to expand the map this year.
By starting early, and aiming towards super-compliance with these really, really onerous provisions, Hope Springs from Field PAC seeks to undermine that strategy, while informing voters about the new laws and regulations aimed at them.
If you are able to support our efforts to protect Democratic voters, especially in minority communities, expand the electorate, and believe in grassroots efforts to increase voter participation and election protection, please help:
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/fistfulofsteel
Thank you for your support. This work depends upon you!